High and Dry
by Whitney Hale
Summary: Bella plans to spend a week staying with her best friend Edward. Her problem- She's been in love with him as long as she can remember and he's got a girlfriend he wants her to meet. What can possibly go wrong, or right, in seven days? AH AU
1. Safety Procedures

Chapter One.

_Black Wave_- The Shins

Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns her inventive characters, but I own this plot, damnit!

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_Good afternoon, ladies and gentleman. I am Captain Richards and I will be your pilot for this flight from Phoenix, Arizona to Seattle, Washington. The weather is looking pretty clear, so we can expect to have you there right on time. Thank you for flying with us, sit back, relax, and enjoy your flight._

The airplane intercom cut out and the stewardess started her spiel about safety exits, flotation devices, and whatnot. I realized that the information was important, but that knowledge didn't make me stop staring out the window and grab the safety procedures manual out of the seat pocket in front of me and follow along. I had more pressing matters to concern myself with, like what was waiting for me at the end of the flight.

The clicking of metal brought me out of my thoughts, and I followed suit, snapping my seat belt into place. The plane started to approach take-off and I gulped down air. I was not afraid of flying, mind you, but my damn ears popped every time. And since I had an aversion to chewing gum, swallowing copious amounts of air was the only alternative I had found to rid myself of the problem. The plane engines revved. I swallowed again.

_Here we go_.

* * *

Two and half hours later, I awoke from my light slumber to the hustle and bustle brought on by the preparations to land. I pulled my headphones out of my ears and turned my ipod off, knowing that particular instruction was to come soon. Sure enough, the standard request to turn off all electronic devices was delivered as I tucked them into my backpack. I briefly wondered what would happen if someone did not comply, but I wasn't about to chance it. One, I didn't want to die in a horrible plane crash, and two, my ipod and the music it held were far, far more important than any illegal, wayward, mid-air experiment.

The well-used, and highly coveted ipod, filled with his original compositions, had been a graduation gift from the person I was flying home to visit. He had given it to me after the celebratory dinner his family had hosted, as we sat in the dark enjoying one of the last nights we had before everything changed. Said he knew I wouldn't forget him, but this was just in case.

He was right, as always.

I couldn't forget him.

I could never forget Edward.

_Never._

From the time we first met, til now, I'd never lived a second without thinking of him. He seemed to have unconsciously wormed his way into every aspect of my life, and I was utterly helpless to prevent it. With his unruly copper hair, beautiful green eyes, crooked grin, and overall roguish appearance, he had always captivated every female he came into contact with. I was no different.

But I _was_ different.

I wasn't just another random female smitten with his boyish charms. I was his best friend. Had been since we were in the sixth grade.

And it was for that reason I got off the airplane with a heavy heart, simultaneously anticipating and dreading seeing Edward again. I couldn't afford to fall for him, my best friend. But stupidly, I had. A long time ago, and very hard. And now I was going to visit him and his new _girlfriend_. My heart twisted at the thought.

_Get a grip, Bella. You'll be fine,_ I coached myself while I mindlessly navigated my way towards the baggage claim. I hadn't even left the airport and I was already silently freaking out enough to have panicked internal discussions with myself.

I spotted Charlie waiting on a bench near where I had snagged my duffle bag. When I reached him, he got up and grabbed me into the obligatory semi-awkward hug/back-pat that had seemed to become the norm between us. After pulling back in a slightly rushed manner, we walked to the cruiser, and he placed my luggage into the back. With a slam of the trunk and the start of the ignition, we were off.

The first few minutes of the ride home were filled with the necessary questions of how I had been, how my semester was, how he had been, how work was. Once those were out of the way, we lapsed into companionable silence. I always appreciated that about Charlie. While most parents bombarded their children with a zillion questions with the intention of learning every single aspect of their lives away from home, Charlie just let me be. He'd always maintained the attitude that if I was being safe and responsible, he could care less what it was that I did while away, but would be more than willing to listen should I ever want to share. I often didn't.

And it wasn't because I was up to any crazy shenanigans in Phoenix, because I most definitely wasn't. I had a rather normal, quite boring life, actually. No, it was because I was a bit embarrassed that I didn't have anything wild _to_ hide from Charlie. At nineteen, I was approaching my junior year of college as possibly the most responsible college student ever. I had gone to Phoenix to pursue writing, which naturally meant majoring in English, and as said English major, how much craziness could I really expect to get into. Okay, well, granted that a vast amount of authors did all sorts of crazy shit, I just wasn't like that. Never had been. Sure, I went out to parties and bars with friends occasionally, but I preferred sitting alone in my apartment rereading my tattered copy of _Wuthering Heights_ to knocking back shots.

_Unless it was tequila, with the lime and salt. _

Rosalie had sparked my love affair with Patrón one night at a club she had dragged me to. _It'll be fun_, she had said as she forced me into the skimpiest clothing I'd ever laid eyes on and out the door. And it _was_ rather fun after I had gotten introduced to the wonder that was tequila. Nine shots and several other drinks later, I was having _a lot_ of fun. By the end of the night, Rosalie had been on the floor and I'd had to help her home and take care of her puking ass all night. That part was definitely _not_ fun. That was probably the craziest night I'd ever had, and I wasn't even _drunk_. Apparently I was armed with an intense tolerance to alcohol, and was still rather sober– sober enough to know using drunkenness as a reason to avoid taking care of Rose was not an option. _Damn my unexpected tolerance and responsibility._ Nevertheless, nights like that were very rare in the life of Bella Swan, and as such, I think my life being a bit boring was a fair conclusion to make. I was more or less a middle-aged woman heading for old age surrounded by several cats at a rapid pace. Not a very comforting thought, but it kept me out of trouble and Charlie from worrying.

_I wonder what Edward's girlfriend is like. _Clearly she's not on a fast track to weird cat-lady-dom because Edward would never go for that. Why would he when he was the world's most interesting and adventurous person?

"So Bells, are you excited to stay with Edward, " Charlie asked, interrupting the silence that had hung over us for quite some time now. I let the question hang in the air for a few seconds contemplating how to simplify the very complicated answer to that very loaded question. I briefly considered jumping out out of the car and running the few miles we had traveled back to the airport to get on the next plane back to Phoenix. Charlie coughed not so subtly in the absence of an immediate response, and I quickly settled upon a noncommittal 'yes' in reply.

"How long are you going to be there again," he followed up. The answer for this was easy, only a matter of fact.

"About a week, give or take."

_And what a long week it would be_.

_Someone should take the time to write safety procedures for my life, I'd definitely read those.  
_

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A/N: Sooooooo reviews would be much appreciated! This is only the second story I've ever endeavored into writing and I'm in desperate need of some feedback. Let me know what you think- reviews keep me glued to my computer writing, while waiting for them to pop up in my inbox, and writing means more chapters, faster!

Much love to my amazing ladies **Foolish Eyes** and **twiobession14**. If you haven't heard of them, go check out their stories now- you won't regret it!


	2. Plans and Prejudice

Chapter Two.

_Tomorrow, Tomorrow_- Elliot Smith

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The next two days at home with Charlie passed quickly, as I had thought they would. And they were enjoyable. Nothing in Phoenix compared to reading in the forests of Forks or cooking for Charlie. But two days at home before leaving to stay with Edward hadn't been the original plan.

I was _supposed_ to go straight to Edward's.

I was _supposed_ to be picked up from the airport by Edward.

I was _supposed _to spend nine days with Edward, instead of seven.

I was _supposed_ to, but I couldn't.

Because of _her_.

Edward and I had planned this little trip months ago. Ever since we'd started attending different colleges, mine in Phoenix, his in Seattle, we hadn't seen each other more than once or twice a year for coffee. It was a drastic change from what we were used to. Here in Forks, Edward lived just down the street from me. Growing up, we had walked to middle school together every morning, and once we'd gotten our drivers licenses, we took turns driving each other around. There was nary a moment when Edward and I weren't together. And then we just couldn't anymore. Sure, we spoke on the phone and instant messaged each other more than anyone else, but our physical presences in each other's lives had dwindled to almost nothing. So when Edward had come up with the plan for me to come stay with him this summer, I was ecstatic. Nine days with Edward was going to be beyond amazing.

And then it became seven.

I was _crushed_.

Bitchface, otherwise known as Tanya, Edward's girlfriend, completely fucked everything up. Apparently her brother came into town two days before me, and she was freaking out about having two guests at one time. I was _not_ her guest, mind you, so our plans should not have been disrupted, but Edward was the guy who did anything to make his girlfriend happy. This time it was cutting down the amount of time he spent with the best friend he hardly ever saw anymore. _No big deal._

He had always been very non-confrontational, and as such, he didn't come right out and ask me to come two days later until I came to the conclusion myself. A few hours before my flight, Edward had called and asked me if I was going to be bored spending so much time with him. I assured him that was most definitely not going to be the case, that he was my favorite person. Throughout our conversation, though, he continued to bring up the possibility of my boredom and how concerned he was with having enough planned for us to do. That's when I caught on. Edward was never concerned with making plans for small stuff; he was a spontaneous, laid-back kind of guy. The kind of guy that didn't bother planning out each day of the week in advance. But that was most definitely up Bitchface's alley. Or so I'd surmised from Edward's vague description of her. I asked him what was going on, and he told me about Tanya's brother, then asked me to push my stay back by two days.

And because he was Edward… I agreed. I wasn't jazzed about it, but I said I would, for him. That didn't stop me from thinking about how absolutely _convenient_ Tanya's brother visiting was. He just decided to come two days before me, out of the blue. And Edward had just flown to Chicago earlier in the summer to see that same brother graduate from high school, so it wasn't like he was meeting anyone new. No, he had to play host to Tanya's family before his own best friend. And I don't think he was too happy with that idea either.

Besides all his apologizing, the rest of our conversation consisted of very subtle hints that Tanya would eat him alive if I didn't do what he asked. Torture by way of Bitchface was not something I would wish on anyone, let alone my Edward, so all bets of mutiny were off. Before we hung up, we went over a few last minute details, including where I'd be sleeping. Edward had already told me I was sleeping in his bed– I had no choice, not that I wanted one. We'd slept together platonically a few rare times before, so it wasn't a big deal. To him, anyways. To my heart and other _parts_, it was a huge fucking deal. Which was why I was basically crushed at when that too was deftly snatched away.

Edward made some joke about me talking in my sleep, and then laughed nervously, following it with what seemed like a fake cough. That's when I heard her for the first time.

"What are you talking about, Eddie? You're sleeping on the couch. _Right?_"

I just about died from the amount of anger that welled up in me.

That.

Fucking.

Bitch.

She'd been right there the whole time, listening to everything he told me.

Making sure he made me come later.

_What the fuck?!_

My mounting tantrum was interrupted by Edward clarifying to me, but mostly to her, that he would indeed be sleeping on the couch.

With that, he hung up and I was left to deal with the unfathomable amount of hatred I had amassed for Bitchface in such a short amount of time. Add that to the times Edward had called me to vent about something she had done to upset him, and there was no _fucking_ way on god's fucking green earth that she was getting the Bella Swan stamp of approval.

As I recalled the last time she'd wronged Edward, my anger grew ten-fold, if that was even possible. When you're a little kid, you learn to make 'I feel' statements to express your emotions. Bitchface had made a really hurtful comment about one of Edward's compositions, and he told her how that made him feel. And what did she say? She told him that _she didn't make him feel anything_, that anything he felt was his fault.

_Seriously?!_

I didn't know what made me more upset– the fact she completely invalidated his feelings, or the fact that he didn't break up with her on the spot.

No, that bitch was most definitely not getting my approval.

Lying in my bed, I realized I was losing precious sleep to thoughts about her. _Fuck that._ I rolled over, reading the bright red numbers staring at me from my nightstand. 3:26 AM. I was taking a bus back to Seattle in the morning, so I needed my sleep. Sweeping all thoughts of her royal bitchiness out my mind, leaving only those of Edward, I began to drift off to sleep.

_Tomorrow was going to be interesting_.

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A/N: OH MY GOD. The response to this and my other story is going great so far. To those of you have added me to your story alerts and left reviews- thank you! I really appreciate it. I'm not entirely certain about how regularly I will be posting for later chapters, but for the first few, I'll be knocking them out fairly soon.

For those of you who have left anonymous reviews, I'm really sorry that I can't respond to your questions, so please do sign in next time.

That's all for now ladies and gentlemen, review below please!


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